Natural Childbirth

I think one of the best things we could do would be to help women/parents/families discover their own birth power, from within themselves. And to let them know it's always been there, they just needed to tap into it.~Karl Menninger

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Janet Still MSN FNP and filed under Quotes, Uncategorized, visions and tagged Women.

Counting Your Blessings: How Gratitude Improves Your Health

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many ways to look at counting one's blessings.... science supports its benefits through empirical observation and you know that when you stop and give a few moments to remembering all that you have versus all that you think you do not have, everything looks a little better, the "light at the end of the tunnel" is more easily visualized, and the not-have stuff is not all that big after all.

Take this day to set a matrix for every day.... to fill yourself up on universal selfless Love;

to let yourself Have It!

and to remember what in life is truly valuable. How much "stuff" do we need? when we have inner peace and contentment.

Much universal Love and many many blessings to you and yours today and all days from Lifestyle Modification Support and family.

Counting Your Blessings: How Gratitude Improves Your Health | CFIDS & Fibromyalgia Self-Help.

http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/09/practicing-gratitude-can-increase.php

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/pay_it_forward/

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Janet Still MSN FNP and filed under information, janet's writing, mission statements, Research studies, resources, visions and tagged Lifestyle.

On Mary Breckinridge and Community Health

 

Mary Breckinridge and Community Health

After three and a half days away from home to gather with future Certified Midwives and Family Nurse Practitioners in Hyden, Kentucky, I look on life with new eyes. The Frontier Nursing University is the oldest proponent and educational program for Family Nursing and Midwifery in America.... for mother/child centered healthcare. A long time admirer of Mary Breckinridge and the Frontier School, I am now included in its rosters as a post masters student of midwifery.

 

You may wonder at this seeming "turn in direction"... but this is not a tangent or byway for my healthcare focus. Lifestyle Modification Support has always supported holistic healthcare which begins at home... in the choices one makes to support one's well-being, one is also making choices that support one's family, one's small circle of friends and network, and thereby, one's community. The mother is the heart and soul of the family. What she does cannot be replaced or imitated easily. To support community health, care of the mother and her health/balance, the mother and those around her must be educated as to the great value of her role in the family as the source of unconditional love that centers and directs the attention and attitude of the whole family. With this focus, the individual members of family go out into the community bolstered and nurtured by the true gift of life.... universal, unconditional Love.

 

If the mother is not supported to remain whole and healthy, she will lose her ability to perform her vital role. In losing her ability to provide such precious spiritual sustenance, she will "lose face"...will lose spirit, hope, faith. It is a rare family that can rearrange its dynamics to compensate for that loss.

 

The grass roots movement swelling across the country for the rise of community health as priority will be greatly supplemented by a focus on the family's role in community. At the heart of the localvore culture, support of the family supports the development of self-esteem in the individuals of the family unit; supports what is strong, intelligent, and genius in their inherited culture and traditions; supports (thereby) community, and local economic growth, which in turn doubles back the benefit to the community again!

 

All of these benefits support education and the expansion of human awareness for what is valuable among us, including our diversity. Diversity is survival in a community, and truly diversity is a necessary environmental trait. That we must survive via harmony and intelligent integration with our environment seems so self-evident that I hesitate to spell it out. For any unable to follow my logic in this discussion to this point, I will explain my statements this way…...

 

If we are to survive physically, our planet must remain viable and able to continue in its diversity of microbiology to continue to provide sustenance to our physical bodies. Thus, in this logic, did I support preserving small traditional communities in the South when I was a young adult and so I continue to support all areas of practical community health which impact physical, intellectual, economic wholeness for its individuals as well as spiritual freedom. Spiritual freedom is a key component in holistic health. The top tier of Maslow's Hierarchy pyramid is self-actualization. Our community's whole health supplies the lower levels of the pyramid so that one may attain that austere top goal.

 

I support Farmer's Markets and Market Co-operatives of all kinds that feature the local community and uphold its unique traits and strengths as well as act as central commerce areas and places of meeting to encourage success and healthy positive activities. Our own Leucadia Farmer's Market takes place on a local school ground. Activities of music, crafts, arts, and child play are as integral as the commercial participants. Providing these elements in a festive, clean, harmonious manner induces further local support by making it easier to participate (for example, young mothers can bring their children to a safe atmosphere to play while the mothers shop); and also, by making the experience more relaxed, entertaining, and sociable.

 

My personal and professional role in my community continues to grow and evolve as is the nature of a healthy and balanced life. Returning to study the healthcare of mother and baby is coming round a full circle for me and for my work in the world. By supporting the center of the family’s well being, I continue to give my part to the solution of maintaining and improving and taking community health to the next level.

 

I will see you “out there” … Please say hello and chat with me about your ideas and hopes.  May we find a way together to continue to complete the circle.

[ fnpstilljanet@gmail.com ]

 

Many sites discuss Mary Breckinridge's impact on community health; here are just a few:

 

http://www.frontiernursing.org/History/MaryBreckinridge.shtm

http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Breckinridge-Frontier-Nursing-Appalachia/dp/0807832111

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3427875

http://www.stamponhistory.com/articles/article.php?article_id=6

http://www.truthaboutnursing.org/press/pioneers/breckinridge.html

Mary Breckinridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Janet Still MSN FNP and filed under discussions, janet's writing, resources, visions and tagged Lifestyle Women.

Just in Time for Halloween! wiccan recipes | 3 Wiccan Herbal Remedies to Try This Halloween | Rodale News

  Halloween recipes for Home: (^.^) 

Here are some very useful, make at home recipes with a Halloween twist this year since these are known as Wiccan remedies..... though I have known these recipes from other herbal sources too.

wiccan recipes | 3 Wiccan Herbal Remedies to Try This Halloween | Rodale News.

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Janet Still MSN FNP and filed under information, resources.

Keep Up with Our Stories & Discussions

Following Your Favorite Stories and Discussions on This Blog

Following stories on a blog can be frustrating when the blog keeps rolling along down the page.

  • Do you want to stay up with the Community Health and Farmers Market stories? I will be copying them over to the Community tab.
  • Did you ever get to the Laughter articles and are hoping for more on that subject? Links will be created to the research articles in the right-hand links column in the middle of the front page; scroll down to the blogroll section.
  • Also there is an archive drop-down menu on the far right side of the front page. Stories and articles are arranged by when they were posted in the archive menu.
  • And look for tag links in the right-hand column as well. Let me know tags that are helpful to You. (just added this feature 24.08.2015)
Please be certain to read the interview with community healer, Barry Jones, on the Featured Healers tab! If you are in the area, I hope to see you at one of his local public shows. http://stilljanet.com/featured-healers/

><><><><@< I am cloistered writing many articles on philosophy of healing right now. Because the focus of my work continues to grow into a community health focus, look for more articles in future that discuss supporting local events, commerce, family, and people.

><><><@< Feel free to write to me with your ideas and reflections at: fnpstilljanet@gmail.com . The website does not allow for quick comments if one is not registered.

><><@< Of course, respect and courtesy is expected in any correspondence you make with the Lifestyle Modification Support website, its commenters, as well as with me personally/professionally.

Many blessings to you and yours! j

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Janet Still MSN FNP and filed under discussions, information, janet's writing, resources, visions.

Your Local Farmers Market ... Are you there?

Sunday at the Leucadia Farmers Market

 Your Local Farmers Market ... Are you there?

Leucadia Farmers Market:

Sunday 10 - 2

October 9, 2011 A Journal Entry………

Today I began my Farmers Market shopping, as I do most Sundays, with the egg man. There's only one egg seller at our Leucadia market and he is so reliable that he only misses two Sundays a year. An honest farmer who grows many vegetables that my family enjoys each week; he feeds his chickens from his gardens, harvests the eggs Friday eve before Sunday market, and answers everyone's questions about gardening, chickens, and the weather. I was pleased to see yellow Yukon potatoes back today. His wife explained to me that the curious weather has all their crops out of order so they keep planting and they harvest whatever's growing this week. This stand often offers potato fingerlings and purple potatoes and many other potato varieties. I encourage her to keep trying because we love all of them.

Next, I cross the aisle to my sweet potato man. He's such a sweet soul himself; always knocking off the extra cents on the total and helping everyone find what they're looking for. He seems quite proud of his purple sweet potatoes, I feel I should buy more of them, but in keeping with conservation, I only buy what I know my family will eat.

Today I also looked forward to the winter squash lady. She grew up on a Kansas farm and she knows her vegetables. Enthusiastically she describes what's growing back on the farm, and what she's about to be out of, to be replaced on the stand with something else special next week. She's unusual because she sells organic nuts and exotic fruits in addition to all her beautiful winter squash. The price on the walnuts is so good, I try to splurge by filling a bag with them, but I still pay less than $5 and we will enjoy these all week, if I don't decide to bake some cookies with them!

Carrots from another local farm look long and strong today. My spouse shows up and I show him our plunder so far. He takes one canvas bag while I take another and we hit each side of the aisles.

There's a dear family that I always buy beans from; today she has huge flat beans. I drop the overflowing basket, enough for two to three meals, into one of my recycled plastic bags and happily pay the husband $4 small dollars...I hope these prices keep them farming.

We are on the lookout for avocados and do not have to look very far to find another little family's booth selling healthy organic avos for a worthwhile price. I choose three medium sized avos of different ripening levels and appreciatively hand over a five dollar bill.

Sending my spouse to Kristie's booth for greens, I relax in Suzy's Organic stand to the music of the women growers' voices describing the weekly harvest box and fielding recipe questions from the customers. I cannot locate the fresh stevia but one of the wholesome gals smilingly shows me that stevia is front and center of the pepper and herb table. I choose some fresh mint too, to go with the stevia for an infusion “cool drink” this hot autumn week. I see Suzy has gorgeous cucumbers this week too and grab one to slice up for our eye treatments. Suzy's broccoli is knock 'em dead voluptuous this Sunday...four large full crowns will go into the Thursday casserole...mmmMm! And a pepper is suggested to fill in the last ten cents to make the total of all these choice items an even ten dollars.

One of the many organic fruit stands continues to offer all their stone fruit for $2.50 a pound across the board; yellow peaches, white peaches, yellow nectarines, white nectarines, plums of all sorts, pluots, the juices of which dribble down your chin regardless how proper your table manners.

There was plenty more today: including the Englishman’s coffee, a burrito for our 15 year old, breakfast special crepes made on the spot to order using the farmers market foods; an upbeat musician playing his original songs from New Orleans; happy children dancing and playing; neighbors and new folks to meet.

This description barely scratches the surface of all the healthy goodies out each week. I purchase what I know will feed my family for seven days and look forward to returning every Sunday for more fresh, as fresh as you can get without growing it yourself, nutrition. I call this the fun way to grocery shop. There's organic or free range meats, breads, cheeses, oils, teas, coffee beans or ground; there's multi national meals and fresh-made refrigerated spreads to take home; pastries; homemade pastas; pet food; seasonings and other herbals; flowers, garden starts, and worm castings; local made crafts including clothing, purses, kitchen tools. The list goes on and it's all at the weekly Farmers Market.

Are you with me yet? Let's keep our community thriving and our families healthy. Your participation is vital and we'd all enjoy your input. So please come on down! I will meet you at the coffee cart, if you like....or would you rather a gluten-free sugarless pastry that melts in your mouth? Too healthy? There's 5 or 6 other pastry stands any week to choose from. Think of this as a party and you are our beloved guest.

See you all soon!

 

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Janet Still MSN FNP and filed under discussions, information, janet's writing, resources, visions and tagged Nutrition.

More On Laughing!

Click on this link to see a very brief educational video about the beneficial effects of busting out laughing. : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/15/laughter-pain-tolerance_n_962353.html

Remember to laugh to stay healthy.... instead of smoke breaks, how about joke breaks?

This is serious! haha ... Laughing increases the release of serotonin and lowers blood pressure.

Send jokes, please.

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Janet Still MSN FNP and filed under discussions, information, visions and tagged Lifestyle.

climate change and health | Are You Ready? Experts Warn of 11 Climate-Related Health Threats | Rodale News

This article in Rodale offers some practical solutions to integrate into lifestyle Now to be ahead of the game for maintaining a balanced and healthy life through castrophes and natural or unnatural climate effects. climate change and health | Are You Ready? Experts Warn of 11 Climate-Related Health Threats | Rodale News.

Whether you want to believe climate change is real or not, these suggestions are easily implemented and will enhance for experience of life overall. Remember: fix the problem, not the blame.

Blessings!

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Janet Still MSN FNP and filed under discussions, information, mission statements and tagged Lifestyle.

Local farmers markets | Americas Top 20 Farmers Markets: 2011 | Rodale News

Farmer's Markets Continue To Make The News!

local farmers markets | Americas Top 20 Farmers Markets: 2011 | Rodale News.

Farmers Markets are on the rise for many solid reasons. The article includes links to many farmers market sites and organizations so that you can find one close to you, support a farmers market in your home area, and share with your long distance friends and family how to find their local farmers market.

Enjoy the harvest!

 

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Janet Still MSN FNP and filed under discussions, information, resources and tagged Nutrition.